Don't grieve...
You can't mourn...
Or else, she'll take over you...and corrupt you.
I sat on the cold ground with my brother clutched in my arms, his body lifeless due to a fatal injury he sustained protecting me. I gripped his body tightly, my body shaking and wishing this entire ordeal was just a bad dream. Tears rolled down my cheek and fell upon his cold face, my heart heavy with emotion.
I knew I couldn't grief...I couldn't mourn, yet Zachary was the only person I had left in my life. My only protector...my last hope. As I sat in the middle of the church with the environment destroyed around me, I heard the mocking laughter of a Daemon in front of me, its taunting causing my blood to boil.
Dark blue butterflies began to appear around my body as I gently began to carry my brother's body to the side and laying him down, using a loose table cloth to cover his body and give him peace. "Ever since the day that disgraceful Goddess rose from the pits of the Abyss, I vowed to do whatever I could to take you all down..."
The daemon curiously watched me and let out a ghoulish hum, leaning forward with intrigue and taking a step toward me. It watched as I picked up my brothers wrapped sword, its eyes widening with caution before leaping backwards.
"You leap backwards at the sight of this weapon...Smart of you to do, taking this is a Blessed Weapon. A weapon suitable enough to strike you down!" I declared with a sorrowful bellow and charged toward the daemon in front of me.
Leaping forward, I came down with a powerful overhead slash, but the daemon evaded it and retaliated with blasts of demonic energy. I steadied my stance and slashed rapidly, successfully deflecting each demonic blast of energy before charging forward once more.
The two of us danced around the ruined church in a heated game of cat and mouse, the death of my brother fueling my every step. The daemon was evasive, not allowing me to get a single strike in, knowing one blow from the sword could be enough to create a guaranteed opening.
The daemon let out an angered screech, releasing powerful soundwaves to blow me away. I grunted as my back hit a wall, my body falling onto one knee with my brother's sword used as support to keep me up. I slowly began to rise back to my feet, every nerve inside me aching and begging for rest.
'Zachary...I...I can't do this without you...' I thought to myself, my gaze slowly drifting toward my cloth covered brother on the ground, blue butterflies covering his body.
The Daemon let out a terrifying laugh at my despair, its arms sharpening into blades, the blood of my brother still dripping from its sharp ends. I turned to face the Daemon once more, the Commander Type Lament now soon to become my final memory.
'Zachary...' I thought to myself, tears of fear and grief filling my eyes, my entire body shaking as I began to mourn my brother.
My entire body felt like it stopped, the room slowly growing quieter and the air around me growing thick and cold. My body could barely support my weight, my legs growing weak and soon I dropped onto my knees. Softly, I began to weep...the energy around body slowly engulfing my body.
The Daemon saw my weakness and took immediate advantage, lunging toward me with a murderous hunger for my flesh and life force. Just as everything felt like it was over, the sound of a gunshot echoed in the room, everything growing silent.
Slowly, I looked up from my own misery to see white butterflies fluttering around the church, the sight of a beautiful woman catching my eyes. Her blonde hair and maid outfit calmly flowed with the breeze, the moonlight casting a silvery, reflective sheen from her revolver.
The daemon in front of her stumbled backwards in agony, a clear hole blown through its torso and black blood leaking from its body. It let out a pained screech, releasing corruptive energy around itself for protection.
"Get up...there's no time to mourn. Unless, you want Lament to come kill you," She began, looking back at me with a calm gaze, her red eyes glowing behind her faded sunglasses.
The daemon let out a monstrous roar, its eyes flashing an angry yellow glow, red and black energy flowing around its body as it began to power up. Its body began to flicker and appear in front of the woman within a blink of an eye, hardening its arm into metal and swinging down at her.
The woman swiftly dodged the attack, grabbing my collar and pulling me out of the way then tossing me to the side. I grunted as my back hit a bench, my spine stinging from the heavy impact. The woman kicked Zachary's sword near me while engaging combat with the Daemon, catching my attention immediately.
"Pick up your weapon, now! I can't defeat this Commander Type Lament on my own!" The woman called out to me, using her great agility to evade the aggressive attacks of the Daemon rushing her.
I watched the two dance around the church in an aggressive ballad, the sounds of gunfire and bio-steel thrashing about filling the air. I glanced over at my brother, his body completely covered with butterflies, signalling his final pass.
Though I was filled with grief and misery, the sight of Zachery began to fill me with rage, my sadness slowly turning into strength. I couldn't mourn...I couldn't grief. I couldn't cry, I couldn't whine, I couldn't bleed my heart out. The only thing I could do was...
"ZACHARY!!!" I screamed with pure fury, the dark blue aura around my body flaring and pulsating before shifting into a light blue hue.
The woman and the Daemon paused in their battle at my battle cry, both of them witnessing my sudden surge in power. I stood up on my feet, my eyes shining a perfect amber light, the scar along my left eye glowing brightly.
Without hesitation, I propelled myself toward the Daemon with righteous fury and a powerful slash toward its very core. The daemon quickly dodged my attack with its unsettling speed then appeared behind me with a jab of its bladed arm, but the woman charged in front of me, casting an angelic shield to protect the both of us.
The woman pushed the Daemon away then began firing multiple holy rounds at the corrupted beast, each bullet aiming for lethal areas of its body. The daemon laughed with mockery as it began to swiftly dodge each bullet and charge forward once more.
"I won't allow you to live any further, you disgrace!" I bellowed with passion and charged forward, preparing to meet the Daemon head on.
The two of us clashed blades, repelling one another before entering a fierce, high speed rapid clash with one another. The two of us let out a bellow as with continued to rapidly clash, neither of us letting up the offensive.
Sparks began to fly wildly, my heart beating with adrenaline and a deeply rooted vengeance. I let out a roar as I parried the Daemon's next attack, the wraps from my brother's sword flying off and revealing a silver blade with blessed markings engraved upon it.
The woman's eyes widened at the sight of the blade, immediately recognizing it. 'Is that Anduril..?'
"Perish foul beast, by the Sword of Anduril! Sacred Cleave!" I roared, slashing down with a benevolent rage, the blade of the sword shining brightly and extending into a longer blade.
The blade of silver light crashed down upon the Daemon, releasing a blast of purifying light and sending the Daemon flying. The beast crashed through a wall, the rubble crumbling down upon it.
The woman let out an impressed hum as she walked toward me, holstering her revolver as she neared. "Impressive moves. You nearly had me worried for a moment..."
"Yeah..." I said softly, lowering my sword and closed my eyes with a deep sigh.
The woman noticed I still wasn't fully there, her heart fully understanding my situation. She held her arms and looked out into the distance, scanning through the ruins of the church. "My name is Fleur De Lissa, I was actually sent here to investigate a Daemon sighting.."
I stayed silent for a moment, my gaze currently captured upon the pile of dark blue butterflies upon my brother. "The Daemon is...well was the Priest of this church..."
Fleur glanced at me with curiosity at the new information, but before she could ask any further questions, the Daemon let out an angered roar in the distance. "Tch...if that's the case, we have to take him down now. Fallen Daemons are nothing to fool around with."
I readied Anduril in my hand, turning my attention toward the hole where the Daemon lied. The roaring began to travel lower and lower into the church, the daemon thrashing about as he soon entered the basement. Without hesitation, I began to make my way toward the hole to confront the Daemon.
Fleur followed behind quickly, unholstering her revolver and reloading the chambers with holy bullets. "By the way, what's your name?"
"Nox..." I said coldly, my heart becoming cold as ice to lock away any emotion dealing with grief.
Fleur hummed at my answer and my sudden shift in demeanor, not questioning any further as she followed me into the hole of another room of the church. The two of us began to follow the tracks left behind by the Daemon, his tracks leading to the basement's stairwell.
We began to traverse down the stairs, each step creaking under the weight of our feet, the air becoming more tense and grim. Once we got to the bottom, the two of us noticed how expansive the basement truly was, wooden pillars placed everywhere to keep the basement's roof up.
"What the hell is this..?" Fleur asked in disgust, using her hand to cover her nose from the foul stench around us.
I looked all around the basement, the decayed bodies of nuns resting across the dirty floors. In the distance, one nun remained alive, struggling within the confinements of her chain along a corrupted alter. Next to her was a large Daemonite Crystal, the scarlet red glow illuminating the basement.
The Daemon turned around slowly, his body grossly morphing into a humanoid figure resembling the Priest. He chuckled tauntingly and groaned softly, cracking his neck to relieve stress in his muscles. "Ahh...well, I wasn't expecting any visitors tonight aside from Prince Zachary and his little brother..."
"Prince..?" Fleur asked, glancing at me with slight confusion, her eyes falling upon my stoic gaze.
"You all did some good damage upon me, getting me to retreat back to my Daemonite. You're a resilient one, Nox...but sadly this is where it all ends. Sister Luciel will be a blessing to me, just as the others were," The priest sneered, his eyes perversely falling upon the struggling nun.
"Please...I beg...don't do this to me. Please...Genesis, don't let this tainted soul harm my flesh. O'Sovereign, I pray..." Luciel begged, her voice breaking with grief for her fallen sistren, corrupted light energy slowly gathering around her body.
The priest chuckled at the weeping nun's grief, his mocking laugh echoing through the basement. "That's it! Grieve for them, let Lament take control! Let Her have your pain!"
"Luciel! Stop crying!" I yelled out, lodging the blade of Anduril into the ground with righteousness.
Luciel heard my voice in the midst of her pain, the corrupted energy halting in its process. She slowly looked up at me, a soft gasp of hope filling her lungs. "N-Nox!!"
"I'm here...but Zachary," I began, my voice shaking as his death lived in my mind constantly, a few tears rolling down my cheeks. "I know it's hard to keep it in...but please, hold your tears. At least until after we kill Priest Vince!"
Vince laughed at my declaration with belittlement in his tone as he turned to face me with a raised brow, his arm morphing into a blade with a poisonous edge. "Kill me? Lament has already taken over you! The butterflies never lie!"
I shot Vince a royal glare as a retort and took on my brother's Sovereignty Stance, silver ethereal particles flowing around me with a royal might. 13 silver butterflies began to flutter around me, each one spiralling around me with energy.
"This isn't Lament...It hurts to know my brother is dead, but I have to accept it. Instead of grieving over him, I will celebrate his legacy by carrying it!" I declared, silver energy particles spiralling in a frenzy as I awakened Anduril's might.
Fleur grunted softly at my royal power, her mind scrambling with questions mixed with confusion and intrigue. Despite her desire to ask questions, she decided to focus her attention upon Vince to defeat him and save Luciel.
"Foolish Prince! Foolish Maiden! A Foolish Nun! The Dark Lord of Lamenting has already conquered Earth! There is no Divine Spirit nor higher Deity that can save you!" Vince roared, a grotesque wing sprouting from his shoulder blade to grant himself more mobility.
"Genesis, our Sovereign of Creation, will always be with us! The Dark Lord may have killed off everyone else, but I am alive! She missed the most important being! I, Prince Nox of Exzodia, will send you back to the hellspawn you came from!" I bellowed righteously and lunged toward Vince with vengeance guiding me.
Vince charged toward me as well with his bladed arm ready, the both of us slashing and colliding, the impact of our clash pushing us away. Vince recovered first and launched a barrage of thrusts toward me, each jab aimed at lethal areas of my body.
Quickly deflection each attack, I granted myself an opening to dodge and launch one of my butterflies toward him. My body became a silver silhouette and warped toward the butterfly, allowing me to land a powerful kick along Vince's midsection.
Vince groaned heavily as he crashed through multiple wooden pillars before slamming into the wall, his body falling flat onto the ground. He began to recover onto his feet, his eyes flashing an angered red light. "What the hell was that..?"
Fleur couldn't help but to stare in awe of my power, but she regained her focus onto saving Luciel from her chains. As she hurried toward Luciel, a beam of dark lightning intercepted her path, preventing her from nearing the captive nun.
"Like I would allow you both to easily take away one of Genesis's Devoted! I will not have a failed prince and some bitch ruin my blessings!" Vince roared, his body shifting back into his Daemon Form and releasing corrupted energy around the basement.
Vince charged toward Luciel and snatched her from the altar before spreading his wings and flying through the basement roof, letting out a monstrous roar into the night. His roar began to stir activity within the basement, the decayed nuns rising from the dead into Undead Nuns.
Fleur and I glanced around the basement, finding ourselves surrounded by zombies, each nun looking at us as if we were a dish to be devoured. Neither of us wasted any time charging toward the stairs, planning to reach the upper floor for more room to fight in.
"Nox! We have to focus on Vince because he's controlling them! Undead enemies won't die unless the Commander is killed!" Fleur informed, her words coming out in huffs as she ran up the stairs.
"Right..." I said calmly, grabbing Fleur's wrist and shooting one of my butterflies up the stairs before warping back to the main room of the church. "I'll end this quickly..."
I launched Fleur toward the ruined roof of the church, her reflexes reacting instinctively to catch one of the boards of the roof and support herself upon the board. I launched another butterfly toward the retreating Vince in the distance then warped toward him, landing a powerful downward slash upon his back and sending him crashing to the ground.
Luciel screamed with fear as she fell from the sky, her eyes shutting tight to prevent herself from watching her doom. A silver butterfly gracefully fluttered upon Luciel's shoulder, turning her body into a silver silhouette and warping her toward me, hanging on Anduril's handle, her blade sticking into a tall tree.
Luciel grunted softly as I caught her by her waist, her eyes opening and looking up at me with surprised and gratitude. "Nox...thank you so much..."
I held onto Luciel tightly, looking down at her and seeing the fear and grief in her eyes. I gave her a reassuring smile, keeping her close to me for comfort and protection. "Don't worry...this will all be over soon..."
I brought us both down to safety and set Luciel down gently, leaving a butterfly on her shoulder for safety measures. I turned around to face Vince once more, watching as he and his army of Undead Nuns began to gather out in the courtyard of the church.
Vince let out monstrous roars, each roar sounding enraged and angry. He looked at me, meeting my gaze with wrath filling his very soul. Without hesitation, he charged toward me with his metallic arm ready to crush anything in its path.
"Fleur! Cover me!" I called out, launching a butterfly toward Vince then warped in front of him.
Fleur heard my call, transmuting one of her white butterflies into a sniper then took aim. She watched me and Vince duel on ground level, the moon casting a golden light like the center stage of a grand finale. Her heart began racing as she watched the pure emotion in each of my swings, flashes of her own mother appearing in her mind.
'I understand your anger, Nox...I see you. I also want to kill every Daemon on this earth!' Fleur poured mentally, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Nox!! Dodge, now!!" Fleur screamed out and took aim at Vince, her right eye glowing brightly, her pupil evolving to develop a golden reticle. "Starshell!!"
I heard Fleur's yell and immediately launched a butterfly in the air, my body warping toward the butterfly to avoid the orb of light crashing down upon Vince and the Undead Nuns. The orb of light released a light explosion, the skins of the Daemons burning and causing them to scream.
"Don't rest now! Keep it up! Dawn Braver!" I bellowed as I crashed down with a downward slash, releasing another burst of light energy, blowing away the Daemons in all directions.
Fleur and I began to takedown the Undead Nuns with ease, Fleur's perfect aim and my graceful threads through space leaving the nuns with no time to react. I took down the last Nun and looked over at Vince, noticing him charging toward me, but couldn't react fast enough to evade his ram.
I grunted as I rolled backwards along the ground then recovered onto my feet before warping back in front of him with an aerial tornado kick, but Vince blocked my attack with ease and launched his bladed arm directly toward my face. Quickly, I warped behind him and drop kicked his back to get him into Fleur's aim.
Fleur leaped down from the roof then swapped her sniper for a shotgun and launched one of her butterflies toward Vince. The butterfly shifted into a clone of Fleur and fired a Holy Fire slug at point blank range, sending Vince flying backwards into the forest in the distance.
Luciel watched us in awe, her heart pounding with adrenaline as she watched our near perfect synergy. White and silver butterflies began to cycle around the courtyard like a coronation, releasing purity and serenity upon church grounds.